How Many People Are Named Basil?
An estimated 6,179 people in the United States have the first name Basil. It is predominantly male (97.4%). The average bearer is 48 years old, and Basil peaked in popularity in 1924 with 281 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Basil as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Basil paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Basil is overwhelmingly male, 343 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
6,179
About 1 in 55,471 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
97.4% confidence
Average Age
48
years old
Peak Year
1924
281 births
Total Registered
13,438
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Basil
Basil is predominantly male (97.4%), though 343 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Basil as a male name
Ranked #2,009 in 2024
76 male births in 2024
Peak: 1924 (281 births)
Basil as a female name
Ranked #6,183 in 2024
19 female births in 2024
Peak: 2021 (29 births)
Basil: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Basil span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 2,455 babies were registered. Basil has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Basil by Decade
How has Basil tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Basil by State
Birth registrations for Basil span all 34 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia. The lowest are in Nebraska, Georgia, Arizona. On average, about 215 Basils were registered per state.
Basil + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Basil as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Basil
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Basil: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Basil?
We estimate approximately 6,179 people named Basil are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 55,471 Americans share this first name.
Is Basil a common name?
Basil is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 13,438 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Basil most popular?
Basil reached peak popularity in 1924, when 281 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Basil is approximately 48 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Basil a male name?
Basil is predominantly male. 97.4% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Basil Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Basil Smith, Basil Johnson, Basil Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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